Sicilian Italian Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe
Adapted from Buon Appetito Regional Italian recipes by the National Italian Australian Women's Association
Recipe Overview
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Marinating time: 2 hours or overnight
Cooking time: 70 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients Needed
- 1.4kg/3.1lb chicken, jointed (see tips above)
- 1/2 cup/125ml/4floz red wine vinegar
- 2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced (around 200g/7oz)
- 2-3 capsicum, deseeded and thinly sliced (around 250g/8.8oz)
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
- 2 tablespoons baby capers
- 125g/4.4oz green and black olives, pitted
- Pinch dried oregano
- Olive oil for frying
- 400g/14oz tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup/125ml/4floz chicken stock or white wine
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Salt and black pepper
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 MARINATE - Mix the red wine vinegar (1/2 cup/125ml/4floz), onions (2 onions, around 200g/7oz), capsicum (2-3 capsicum, around 250g/8.8oz), garlic cloves (4 cloves), baby capers (2 tablespoons), olives (125g/4.4oz) and oregano (a pinch) and place in a tray or a ziplock bag with the chicken pieces (1.4kg/3.1lb). Marinate overnight in the fridge or for 2 hours.
Step 2 SIMMER- Heat oil in a large casserole pan and place on medium heat. Add chicken skin side down and cook for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and add all the vegetables and vinegar from the marinade into the pan and saute for 8-10 minutes or until onion has softened. Add the tomatoes (400g/14oz) and bay leaves (2 bay leaves) and then add the chicken pieces back into the pan. Bring the sauce to a simmer and spoon the sauce over the chicken and submerge the chicken as much as possible in the sauce. Place the lid on and reduce heat to a low medium so that you can still hear it simmering away but not too rapidly. Simmer for 40 minutes keeping lid on.
Step 3 SEASON- Remove the lid and gently take out the wings (they will be well cooked by then). Add chicken stock or white wine (1/2 cup/125ml/4floz) and sugar (2 tablespoons) and then season with salt and pepper - taste is very important here and stop adding salt when the sauce tastes like a wonderful balance of sweet, salty and sour and not just sweet. Simmer for 10-15 minutes uncovered occasionally spooning the sauce over the chicken. Then add the wings back in and serve.
Personal Note
The other day I got some news about our lovely neighbours, a gorgeous retired couple who we always see while on our walks. Paolo is Italian and Rita is Greek. Paolo is outgoing and chatty while Rita is sweet and soft spoken (apparently he is like me and Rita is like Mr NQN). Paolo is very encouraging and has loaned me some Italian cookbooks.
We've gone out to dinner with Rita, Paolo and our other neighbours Tony and Bryan. We haven't seen Paolo or Rita much lately and Tony messaged me to deliver some terrible news. Rita had been diagnosed with leukemia and was undergoing chemotherapy.
I've heard that one of the most helpful things people can do for friends is to provide them with meals so that they don't have to contend with cooking between hospital visits. Paolo can cook but Rita normally cooks so I thought it might be good. I normally make people Chicken Marbella as it's delicious, healthy, keeps well and improves with time. But then I remembered the cookbook that Paolo had loaned me has a recipe for Sicilian chicken. It's actually a bit similar to Chicken Marbella with an agrodolce or sweet and sour sauce. So I made them this dish. It was so good that I made it for ourselves a couple of times after!
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever tried an agrodolce Sicilian dish like this?